Best practices for planning and promoting recurring webinar events

You’ve successfully planned and managed a great webinar that drew a large audience. You know how to master a single event and feel you need more? Why not try developing your business activity into a series of recurring webinar events? It will be in a way easier once you’ve done single ones, and definitely more profitable if you want to reach new audiences and boost your business.

Read our latest blogpost to learn how to organize and conduct a successful webinar series, and how to schedule and promote them effectively.

 

What is a recurring webinar event?

Recurring webinars are online presentations that happen on a regular schedule, such as every week, month, or on specific days. They usually follow the same format each time. For example, a company might host:

• a weekly product demo,
• a monthly training session, or
• daily onboarding webinars for new users.

You may register for these through a single landing page that lets you pick from various dates, or each session might have its own sign-up page, depending on how the webinar service is set up.

To make sure as many people as possible can watch the webinar, these events can be either live or recorded (on-demand webinars). The recorded versions are available to watch anytime, which is great for viewers who can't join the live session.

Recurring webinar event planning

To ensure your recurring webinars are a hit, start with a solid plan. Here's what you need to do to prepare for a successful webinar series:

#1 Set clear objectives

Before diving into planning, decide on your webinar's main objectives. This could be anything from generating leads, promoting a product, increasing brand awareness, to educating customers. Clear objectives will steer the direction of your planning.

#2 Know your audience

Understanding who you're speaking to is vital for the success of your webinars. Get to know your audience's interests, challenges, and what they're looking to learn. This insight will help you create content that not only appeals to them but also encourages them to return for future sessions.

Example:

If your audience consists of small business owners, they might be interested in topics like "Scaling Your Business on a Budget" or "Effective Social Media Strategies with Limited Time."

You can conduct pre-webinar surveys

Before you host a webinar, send out a survey to registrants asking about their interests and what they hope to gain from the webinar. Ask questions like:

• What specific topics would you like us to cover?
• What challenges are you currently facing in your industry?
• What are your goals for attending this webinar?

You can also analyze your customer data

If you have a customer relationship management (CRM) system, use it to gather data on your audience. Look at demographic information, purchase history, and any previous interactions with your brand. This information can give you insights into what your audience might be interested in.

#3 Pick engaging topics

The heart of your webinar's success lies in its content. Choose topics that not only interest your audience but also align with your webinar goals. With a series, you have the chance to delve into a wide range of subjects under a broader theme, which keeps your webinars interesting and dynamic.

Example:

A webinar series for aspiring writers could include "Finding Your Writing Niche," followed by "Building a Writing Routine," and "Getting Published: Steps to Take Your Work from Draft to Bookshelf."

If running a health and wellness series, having a nutritionist talk about "Diet and Mental Health" and a fitness coach cover "Integrating Exercise into a Busy Schedule" can add depth to the series.

For home gardeners: A gardening series, from "Starting Your First Vegetable Garden" to "Pest Management in Organic Gardening" and "Seasonal Gardening Tips."

#4 Schedule wisely

Set a predictable schedule for your webinar series, taking into account when your audience is most likely to be available and considering their time zones. Consistency in your webinar timing can generate excitement and make it easier for attendees to remember and attend your sessions.

Recurring webinar event scheduling tips

Organizing a recurring webinar series efficiently requires thoughtful scheduling to ensure maximum attendance and engagement. Here are some essential tips for scheduling recurring webinar events effectively:

• Choose a regular time

Choose a regular time and day for your webinars that’s easy for your audience to remember and commit to. Whether it's a monthly webinar on the first Tuesday or a weekly session every Thursday evening, consistency helps build a habit and expectation.

• Avoid holidays

Be mindful of major public holidays, industry-specific events, and other significant dates that might affect your potential attendance. It’s also wise to check for any other major webinars or virtual events within your niche that could be scheduled around the same time.

• Consider time zones

For a global audience, aim to schedule your webinar at a time that's reasonable for as many time zones as possible. Sometimes, it means hosting the same session twice to accommodate different geographic regions.

• Send reminders

Even the best-timed webinars can be missed without proper reminders. Implement a strategy for sending reminders via email, social media, or direct messaging, starting a week in advance and including a last-minute reminder an hour before the webinar begins.

• Choose midweek

Statistically, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays see higher attendance rates for webinars as Mondays are usually busy start-of-week days, and Fridays are when people wind down for the weekend.

• Set a good length

Consider the ideal length of your webinars and how frequently you plan to host them. Keep sessions engaging, but not overly long to respect your audience's time, especially if your series is frequent.

It is thought that 45 minutes webinar is ideal, and has been proven that it is actually better than a 60 minute long one.

• Provide on-demand access

Given the differing schedules of your audience, recording your sessions and providing on-demand access can ensure no interested attendee misses out. This also increases the overall reach and longevity of your webinar content.

Once you've finished with planning your content and schedules, it's time to promote your webinar series. This is something of huge importance and becomes a must. 

How to do it effectively? Read on, and we'll give you some essential tips. 

Promoting webinar series effectively

Promoting a webinar series effectively requires a multi-faceted approach that leverages various marketing channels and strategies to reach your target audience and encourage their participation. Here are some key strategies to consider:

Send e-mails 

Kick off your promotion with an email to your existing mailing list, highlighting the value and what attendees can expect from the series.
Schedule reminder emails as the webinar dates approach, including a last-minute reminder a day before or on the morning of the webinar.

Use Social Media

Share teasers and countdown posts on your social media platforms to build anticipation.
Use platforms like Instagram Live or Facebook Live for quick live sessions to talk about what each webinar will cover.
Create a unique hashtag for your webinar series to make it easier for people to find related posts and engage with others.

Optimize your website

Create a comprehensive landing page for your webinar series that includes the schedule, topics, speaker bios, and registration form.
Write blog posts related to your webinar topics to pique interest and direct readers to your webinar registration page.

Form partnerships

Collaborate with industry influencers and other businesses to co-host webinars. Their promotion to their followers can increase your reach.

Do paid advertising

Run targeted ads on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram, directing users to your webinar registration page.
Use Google Ads to target potential attendees actively searching for related topics.

Offer lead magnets and video snippets 

Offer free, valuable content related to your webinar topics in exchange for email sign-ups.
Share short, compelling video snippets and highlights from past webinars to give a taste of what attendees can learn.

Offer incentives

Provide early bird discounts or special bonuses for attendees who register early.
Offer certificates of completion or professional development credits for attending the series.

Follow-up marketing

After each webinar, follow up with attendees via email with a link to the recording, additional resources, and teasers for the next webinar in the series.

Choose the best webinar platform 

Now, the last key issue, or perhaps the most important issue actually, is to choose the best software. If you are looking for a comprehensive, yet easy to use and user-friendly webinar platform that will help you realize your dream of organizing webinar series - LiveWebinar could be a good choice. We have experience in organizing big online events and offer you the set of features you will need to not only plan your series but also market it and promote. Check us out. Set up an account and contact us in case of any questions. We're here to help you create great content and prosper!